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Published by MacroVU Press in support of the Visual Language Project at Stanford University, which is directed by Robert E. Horn.
The UPDATE summarizes the research and applications of visual language and information design.

In this issue
1. Newest Innovation -- Multiple Levels of Detail on the Web
2. Two Conferences Coming Up in October
3. Book Review -- Interface Design and Document Design
4. Book Review -- Mapping Web Sites
5. New Review -- Design Journal Reviews 'Visual Language'
6. Followup -- Ballot & Information Design

1. NEWEST INNOVATION -- MULTIPLE LEVELS OF DETAIL ON THE WEB
The most recent innovation in our Mapping Great Debates Series is a detailed portion of one of our argumentation maps on our publisher's web site. We have also provided a second level "beneath" the summaries of the claims on our map. This second level contains quotes from the protagonists' original articles, on which our summaries are based. This begins to provide the depth that hypertext on the web offers. Our view is that this form of argumentation maps on the web provide an important navigational infrastructure for understanding the emergence of a subject matter and its intellectual history. With our website you can begin to envision how the depth of the unfolding of debates on the cutting edges of different disciplines and interdisciplinary issues can be summarized and mapped.

The web portion is from map 6 -- Do Computers Have To Be Conscious To Think? If you look at the maps on the web, you will see two regions of the map outlined in heavy red lines. These are: 
(1) the debates about "Can Computers be Conscious?" and
(2) the functionalism debates "Can Functional States Generate Consciousness?"

Clicking there will enable you to view a total of 31 major "moves" in the argument -- claims, rebuttals and counterrebuttals. They are presented in detail both in map form and in individual in-depth "source" pages that are hyperlinked.

The obvious next step in this enterprise is to have the individual claims linked to not only the quote pages that we have provided, but also to the full text of the original sources. You can view an example of this by clicking on the Turing claim on Map 6. The link will take you to the full text of Alan Turing's 1950 article in "Mind" which is on the web at the Dartmouth College Philosophy Department site. We are seeking funds to enable us to do the full linking of maps-to-full text on the web for our mapping project.

FOR A LOOK AT THESE MULTIPLE LEVELS OF THE CONSCIOUSNESS MAP, START AT THIS WEB PAGE: http://www.macrovu.com/CCTHowItWork1.html
IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS ON THIS PROJECT, SEND US AN EMAIL AT: hornbob@earthlink.net

2. TWO CONFERENCES COMING UP IN OCTOBER
An innovative co-siting of conferences that will be of interest to many readers of this newsletter will be held in October 29-31, 2001 in Orlando, Florida. This will be a chance for people to meet our project director, Robert E. Horn, who will be speaking at both conferences. 
http://www.infomap.com/promotions/mkwccall.htm

2.A. THE INFO PRODUCER CONFERENCE & EXPO, Orlando, Florida, Oct.29-31, 2001
The Info Producer Conference & Expo, is for professionals who develop, design and manage documents, databases, and other informational content (text, audio, graphics, and video) for delivery or publication online. The program emphasizes knowledge acquisition, content management, and document management systems.
CONTACT: http://www.influent.com/infoproducer2001

2.B. INFORMATION MAPPING'S "MAKING KNOWLEDGE WORK" CONFERENCE, Orlando, Florida, Oct. 29-31, 2001
The conference program focuses on providing a community for idea exchange and techniques on how to make knowledge work. Specifically, the program includes topics ranging from client-presented case studies to sessions on Knowledge Management, Mapping and the Web, XML, and new product introductions.
Look for upcoming information at: http://www.infomap.com

3. BOOK REVIEW--Interface Design and Document Design
Dutch information designers Piet Westendorp, Carel Jansen, and Rob Punselie have edited a useful collection of articles. I liked the editor's introductory chapter, in particular their overview diagram that divides the user's device model into (1) an a priori mode, 2) User interface model, (3) help model, and (4) training model, and specifies that documentation needed for each phase. Especially useful are two chapters on designing documentation and interfaces for older people by Herman Bouma and Patricia Wright. 
Interface Design and Document Design, ISBN 90 - 420-0510-6
CONTACT: Publisher Rodopi http://www.rodopi.nl

4. BOOK REVIEW--Mapping Websites
This is a a full color, glossy paper account of Paul Kahn's and Krzysztof Lenk's approach to making maps of Web sites. Its major benefits are the myriad of examples. The explanatory text of their methodology is a little light, so you will have to infer approaches from their illustrations. 
Mapping Websites, Paul Kahn and Krzystof Lenk, ISBN-2-88046-464-1
CONTACT: sales@rotovision.com

5. NEW REVIEW--DESIGN JOURNAL REVIEWS 'VISUAL LANGUAGE'
Ed Kohorst, Design Director for the Dallas Morning News and last year's president of the Society for News Design has written a review of one of our project's major publications: "Visual Language: Global Communication for the 21st Century." He says, "As visual journalists, we often, in our storytelling, employ some of the lessons found in this book--utilizing words, shapes, and images to communicate and hopefully advance information from one to another. 'Visual Language' reveals even more ways to understand the dynamic of language and shows how to be a better, more complete storyteller."

CONTACT:
Visual Language book description & contents: http://www.macrovu.com/VLBkAboutTheBook.html

6. FOLLOWUP - BALLOT & INFORMATION DESIGN
Our article on the research on visual information design and the recent election difficulties in Florida that was the centerpiece of the last issue of UPDATE has been reprinted and highlighted in the current Design Journal (Spring 2001). This is the journal of the Society for News Design, a lively world-wide organization of visual language "speakers" who design and illustrate newspapers and magazines and their websites.

SOCIETY FOR NEWS DESIGN, CONTACT <http://www.snd.org>

Also one of our readers, information designer John Boykin, writes "The solution is not to redesign ballots, but to retire the punchcard voting system entirely. Redesigning the ballots is straightening bandages on a corpse. I was a county election official responsible for punchcard ballots once upon a time and am now an information designer. You might be interested in a small piece I wrote and some drawings I did to illustrate the problem."

JOHN BOYKIN'S WEB SITE: <http://www.quintessence5.com/ballot.html>
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The VISUAL LANGUAGE UPDATE is free.
Please share the Visual Language Update with your friends and colleagues; we ask only that you keep the fine print attached:
Entire contents copyright 2000 R. E. Horn. The Visual Language Project at Stanford University

Feature articles in international journals, such as "New Scientist", have focused attention on our visual language project. As a result, we've been asked a lot of questions about this new field, so we've launched this newsletter. Our goal is to keep you up-to-date on developments in the field of visual language and visual information design. We will summarize the projects we're working on, both research and applications. We'll review important books and articles in the field and present brief critiques of important issues in the field. We thank our publisher, MacroVU Press for its support of this newsletter.
---Bob Horn, Project Director
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To read previous issues of this newsletter, go to http://www.stanford.edu/~rhorn
Editor and Publisher: Robert E. Horn, visiting scholar, Stanford University